Police: Pedestrian at fault in fatal San Rafael collision

The driver of a van that struck and killed an 83-year-old pedestrian in San Rafael's Canal neighborhood last weekend will not be cited after an investigation determined the pedestrian was at fault, police said Friday.

Julio Villalobos was crossing Medway Road on Oct. 6 when he was struck by a Ford Econoline van between Canal and Belvedere streets, police said. He died the next day at Marin General Hospital.

According to the driver and a witness, Villalobos was approximately 20 feet away from the crosswalk at Medway and Canal when he stepped into the roadway in front of the van, San Rafael police Sgt. Christopher Coale said.

"Unfortunately Mr. Villalobos was not looking to see what the traffic was," Coale said. "There is nothing to indicate that the vehicle was traveling at an excessive or unsafe speed."

Alcohol and vehicle malfunctioning were both ruled out, and the driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, Coale said. Coale declined to release the name of the driver, saying only that he was a middle-aged man.

The victim's family has called for improved safety in the area where Villalobos was struck. A pedestrian was killed in the same location in 2007 and another was injured there in 2004.

The city has reconfigured the sidewalk to improve safety, but Villalobos' relatives are calling for other changes such as a stoplight or flashing lights in the roadway to warn drivers of a crossing pedestrian.

Relatives have gathered at the accident site with signs most afternoons during the past week.

"We don't want someone else to lose a family member in a car accident," said Villalobos's grandson, Luis Celis, 25.